Dark Future
by Liahgeron
Summary: The world has ended. The Apocalypse has come and gone. Yet, nearly 2 centuries later, mankind has rebuilt itself from the ashes. But this is not a bright, happy future. The military rules and greed and vicious determination rule. Welcome to my world.
1. Default Chapter

**Dark Future: ****A Digimon Tale******

By. Liahgeron

"All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single flame.

Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own Digimon. If I did, 03 would have continued.

Prologue:

Somewhere

            A large flock of strange, big-eared creatures circle a great beacon of white light that seems to soar into a strange, red sky from a shallow crater in the blue ground. One by one, the sprite-like creatures begin to glow with an eerie, golden light that spreads to form a large ring around the tower of energy. Suddenly, there is a great flash that annihilates the presence of shadows from the area. Slowly, the crater again becomes visible. All of the strange faeries are nowhere to be seen. In fact, the only remaining presence, at the center of the crater, is a small white egg marked with 4 triangle, 3 black, and one, at the center, red. The egg begins to shake, first a gentle rocking back and forth, then more and more intensely. It began to slowly crack, an intense white light shining through the breaks, not unlike the blinding beacon that had once stood in its place. With a great _CRACK!_ the egg shatters, sending fragments in all directions, releasing a strange form made of what appeared to be liquid light in the shape of a ball. It slowly dripped down, like viscous oil, forming one large drop. Suddenly, the form sprouted large, oblong feet and two tiny arms. On its "head," large wings...no, ears spread, each easily as large as the rest of the proto-creature. A symbol faded into view at the center of the head, identical to that on the egg. The glow begins to dies down as the edges start to darken to purple. Ears retracting, the tiny, purple-white creature is dropped unsteadily to its feet, no longer held up by their buoyant force. After stumbling for a few steps, it regains its footing, standing up and slowly opening its eyes. Blinking its insufferably cute baby blues a few times and looking around, it declares in its squeaky voice,

            "W-Where am I?" It blinks a few more times, and then continues, "For that matter who am I?

            In its infinite wisdom, the universe decides not to answer the innocent creature, preferring, rather, to watch it stumble through the steps of development. It was after all far more amusing that wayÉ.

(Fade to black, hearing a faint "Really! Tell me! Anybody?")

Begin Intro

_Coming Soon _(I hope, song suggestions welcome)

End Intro

            For many years after the fall of MaloMyotismon and the public announcement that digimon, strange digital-based creatures hailing from cyberspace, not only existed, but were generally human-friendly, bonding with their specific "partners," the world had prospered with the new wealth of potential the digimon promised. The environment had even begun to recover from the terrible damage the previous centuries of human development had done to it. Many economies thrived with an influx of new, digimon-related industries. Cars and planes quickly became, for the most part, obsolete, especially after the source code of the Armor digivolution program was cracked, allowing mass distribution of "patches" that gave any digimon, regardless of age (though it still only worked in rookie form) to digivolve into a more useful form, generally capable of transporting its partner to wherever his or her heart desired. It truly was a great new Age for both Human- and Digimon-kind But it was not to last.

One dark stain remained upon both worlds, unaffected by the purifying events of the Second Sunrise event that unified the power of digidestined children of the world to defeat the resurrected evil of MaloMyotismon. Though sealed by the world's most powerful digidestined team, called the 02 Odiba Digidestiend, Japan into the Dark Ocean, the lowest sublevel of the digital world, nothing lasts forever and, in the year 2006, on June 6th, after nearly 7 years of imprisonment, HE broke free with a vengeance, leading hordes of supped-up viral digimon. Unfortunately, the years of peace had left the majority of the world's digidestined weak and unable to put up much of a resistance against the mostly Ultimate-leveled army, let alone the super-powered Mega at their head. The Dark One, whose name has been stricken from history in superstitious fear, cut a large swath through Japan before moving on to China, "cleansing" the world of all traces of organic life as he went. Millions perished from, not only the battles, but also the natural disasters this Dark Army set off.

            At last, the Champions of both realms rallied, led by both Odiba digidestined teams. Using guerrilla tactics, they took a fair chunk out of the Swarms, as the Dark Armies were termed, with comparatively minimal casualties. Unfortunately, the vast difference in numbers quickly forced the battles to a head, putting the Ôdestined at a serious disadvantage. Simply put, the Dark One had enough forces to spare for suicidal charges across the Asian continent, even into the other World, just to take out the small bases the destined operated out of. Realizing the current fighting method was a guaranteed loss for mankind, Tai Kamiya ordered one last stand for humanity. The chosen site was the recently destroyed Three Gorges dam in China, where He was massing his forces for a strike into the last major population center in the Far East, Hong Kong.

            The titanic battle stretched across miles. Izumi, "Izzy," devised a "divide-and-conquer" strategy spearheaded by 4 of the only 5 Mega-leveled digimon humankind had access to: WarGreymon, MetalGarurumon, Magnadramon, and Seraphimon. The Fifth, Imperialdramon, led a small team of agile Ultimates to keep the Darkness distracted whilst His army was quartered and destroyed. For awhile, the strategy worked, one team, led by Seraphimon and his partner, Takashi, "T.K.," managed to wipe out their assigned section of the army and move in to aid the interference team, having been reduced to it's last member, who was having difficulty despite having taken the data of two other Megas, effectively removing them from the battle, to unlock his Paladin mode just to keep up with his opponent. Together, the two Holy Knights seemed to have the upper hand against the Demonic beast. Then, the unthinkable happened, the Child of Hope fell. The few remaining minutes of footage of this scene record the horrible events that followed:

The Evil One played he trump card, calling upon the bulk of His power, hidden in the form of His army. Using a previously unknown ability, He absorbed the data of His defeated soldiers, growing several magnitudes stronger, then deleted the rest _en masse_ to gather even more power. With a blast of hellfire, the Demon blew away both of His opponents, then sank into the shadows, reappearing behind the Child of Hope. A sadistic grin pasted on His features, He drove His long claws through the stunned teen, instantly slaying him. Without his partner to sustain him, Serphaimon fell out of Mega, all the way back to his rookie form, Patamon. Turning next to Imperialdramon, He blasted him with a torrent of fire, eventually deleting one of the partner digimon that made it up and leaving the other barely alive. Stricken with grief, the Child of Light, Hikari Kamiya, could only stare in horror as the monstrous digimon calmly marched toward her. In a tragically final attempt to save her partner, Magnadramon charged, blowing Holy fire, only to smash into His impenetrable Barrier, then be blown apart into lose data by its power. Turning back toward His original target with a cruel laugh, He continued His march. This undoubtedly was the 2nd darkest moment in human history. The few survivors watching the scene fell to their knees in resignation. Yet, in this darkest moment, when both Light and Hope were absent, a single light of hope flickered into existence, and shown like a star in the black.

            Daisuke "Davis" Montoya, the oft-disregarded leader of the 02 Odiba digidestined, refused to give in to the fear and stood, shouting his refusal of this fate, his refusal of the darkness. Though more than half dead, his partner rose from the crater he had fallen into stand by his side. Ignoring the shouts of the Child of Light to flee and save himself, Davis slowly marched to intercept the Evil before He could fulfill His dread desire. The Dark One was happy to oblige, watching with Satanic amusement at this pitiful effort. Taunting his futile attempt, He tossed a blast of energy at the Child of Light, knowing Daisuke would leapt in front of it. Time seemed to slow as the ball approached the defiant Digidestined, who roared in frustration at his weakness. Then something strange happened: a golden light began to spread from his body as the attack impacted, covering the area in smoke. The Demon laughed in amusement at the end of the annoying "gogglehead," before teleporting past the smoke to taunt the Child of Light some more. He managed to gloat for a few seconds before He noticed that the Child of Light's eyes had focused again, and a gasp had entered her lungs. Curious, He slowly turned, His own eyes widening at the sight. In place of the defiant Child and Digimon, now stood a large figure. Standing at nearly 4 meters tall, the armor-clad Knight was nearly dwarfed by his own broadsword. Easily a third again his height, the double-edged weapon was constructed of a semi-translucent, sky blue crystal and looked VERY sharp. The armor glowed faintly with a blue-green light and wrapped tightly to the Knight. His helmet was roughly egg-shaped, not unlike a streamlined version of Magnamon's helm. Decorated by 6 crystalline blue spikes sweeping backwards from where the faceplate joined the crown, it almost looked like a star-shaped mane. The warrior's blue skin was visible through a rectangular slit in the faceplate around deep brown eyes, which narrowed at the sight of the Beast. This was the first time.

            The Demonic Mage quickly recovered from His shock to demand the being's identity. It replied in a strange dual voice that it was called Pendramon, formed by the fusion of Digimon and Human partners. It slowly lifted a gauntleted hand to grasp and draw the titanic weapon, shouting that His time on this plane was over and the Crystal Calburn would be the instrument of His banishment. Leaping forward, Pendramon immediately began his offensive. It quickly became obvious that, despite the tremendous boost in power that Veemon had received from bonding to Daisuke, that the two Megas were evenly-matched in raw power. Despite the devastating explosions of energy that resulted from their attacks canceling one another, neither managed to deal any significant damage. However, they were far from evenly matched in other areas. The remaining Digidestined watched in horror as the Devilish intellect of the Dark One went to work as He took to the air and began to strafe their dwindling numbers. It soon became obvious that Pendramon, despite his impressive jumping ability, could not fly, and was forced onto the defensive, deflecting the rain of fire blasts from his friends. Despite his valiant and successful efforts, such devious tactics proved very effective. After several hours, Pendramon's impressive power reserves ran dry and he fell to his knees, dropping his sword. Gloating at his impending victory, the Devil took his time charging His final attack.

            The weakened Mega tried to raise himself and meet the impending attack, only to fall back. Cursing whatever gods would listen, Pendramon demanded more power, enough to destroy the Beast once and for all...and someone listened. A surge of golden power shot from the fallen Digivice of the late Child of Hope, followed shortly after by the other digivices belonging to the fallen. This energy catalyzed a new change in the fighter, and a new strength. Rising to his feet with a roar, bursting at the seems with a golden light, two wings, resembling those of an angel, burst from his back and 3 symbols appeared before him: that of Courage, Friendship, and Miracles. Pulsing with renewed vigor, the light focused on these runes, drawing them closer and closer together, at last fusing into a single Crest. "Valor, " whispered the titan and the symbol was stamped onto his chest. Looking up at his stunned opponent, Pendramon lifted his sword and began to draw in power for one final attack. Babbling insanely, the Dark One launched His ultimate attack, Hellfire Inferno, at His opponent. Pendramon leapt toward the attack, meeting it head on with his golden aura. Gold and Dark energies conflicted only momentarily before the light shattered the dark. Desperate, the Evil One launched volley after volley of hellish fire at the incoming arbiter of His fate, only to have them detonate harmlessly on this protective aura of light. Roaring his attack, "Final Justice," Pendramon rapidly closed the distance between them and brought the painfully bright blade down on the Demon, annihilating Him in a blast whose radiance was like a second sun in the darkened sky.

            Landing heavily, the victorious titan landed to the ragged cheers of the army's survivors and the teary-eyed face of his beloved. Alas, this happy ending was not to be as this pyrrhic victory had exacted one final cost. As he began to disintegrate into floating data, Pendramon wiped Kari's tears away with a finger, whispering a final farewell and a promise to protect the Real and Digital Worlds forever. With that, he burst apart and was blown away by a strong wind, his data eventually integrating itself into the very fabric of the Digital World, becoming a firewall against high-level, non-partnered digimon. And so the world was filled with celebration and began to rebuild with renewed confidence and strength. But soon, mankind yet again proved to be its own worst enemy.

            Eager to gain an edge over one another, nearly every world power plunged billions into research to reproduce this powerful new "Biomerge Evolution." Though none succeeded, most unlocked a number of algorithms dealing with Mega digivoutions and began vigorous recruitment of Digidestined Children whose digimon had strong martial potential. In actuality, conscription was a more accurate description of their actions. Brutal training methods and psychotropic drugs were common treatments applied to the "recruits" in order to artificially induce the heightened emotional states observed to be tied to digivolution. Techniques applied to their respective partner digimon included direct infusion of power (see "Shock Treatment") and forced hacking of their source code, the digital equivalent of vivisection. No matter the morals involved, there were marked successes, with nations amassing armies of Mega-leveled digimon.

No one is quite sure who fired the first shot, but, inevitably, the world broke out into conflict once again. However, the increased firepower digimon allowed created a rapidly escalating conflict as casualties mounted on all sides. Eventually, after months of "little" conflicts, allies formed into two sides: one led by the US, consisting of most of Western Europe and the remains of Both China and Japan, and another led by the Middle-eastern countries, consisting mostly of countries heavily damaged by the Dark Times. The Arabic countries making up the core of this coalition were especially smarting from the loss of business as cars and other gas and oil dependant industries became independent of the "Black Gold." Initial skirmishes generally involved border disputes as countries, particularly in Asia, began preying on their neighbors. The conflict rapidly developed into a full-scale war, decimating the populations of many areas. In fact, most casualties were civilians caught in the crossfire. Urban combat became the norm with Digital Gates being used to penetrate even the strongest of defenses. Yet such tactics only invited worse retribution, and nearly a quarter of the planet's remaining population was wiped out in the initial exchanges. The DigiDevil had thinned the population of a mere 100 million: Mankind wiped out billions of its own. Such carnage and destruction soon overflowed into the Digital World, calling the attention of one who could do something about it: Kamiya Hikari.

            After watching the two men who held the strings of her heart be massacred, Hikari had retreated into the heights of the Digital World, supposedly never to be heard from again. However, as the massive armies of Earth prepared to meet on the plains of Africa, the last unclaimed continent of strategic value, the world had divided into two sides of allies to be victorious or devastated as the case may be. While both sides had had their numbers thinned by the war, they managed to amass the 2 greatest armies ever assembled in history to do battle, each numbering over 2 million strong humans, not counting partners. As the sides were to begin their charges, a great flash of light was seen, blinding all on the field. Their sight returned to see a lone pair standing between them, one human, one digimon. The armies ground to a halt at the sight of a beautiful young woman standing between them, pausing in their headlong charge. A few vaguely recognized her, a handful knew who she was, and fewer still survived what happened next.

            Angry tears pouring from her large eyes and her voice projected around the world through various electronic media, the lady denounced both sides of the battle, calling it a pointless feud that caused only death. Both sides angrily protested, demanding to know what she had lost, what she had sacrificed, what she had lost. Many threw insults, some threw attacks. Yet this angelic woman did not flinch from her approaching doom: she only lifted her left arm, the one holding her pink D3. She shouted an activation phrase, the exact words drowned out in the ensuing series of explosions. The armies shouted their approval, already deep in battle frenzy, and leapt forward to continue their charge. The titanic forces collided...with a barrier of holy light. This was the second time.

            From the cloud of debris and dust, a figure wreathed in divine light emerged. Stretching her wings, she rose into the sky, emerging from the obscuring cloud. Later identified as Orphanimon, the biomerge of Gatomon and Hikari Kamiya, the angel flew high into the upper atmosphere, her holy aura glowing brighter than the sun. Reaching the apex of her flight, Orphanimon began her final and most powerful attack. Her aura began to expand into a series of rings, forming a representation of the legendary Tree, Sephiroth. The attack detonated in a brilliant flash, annihilating the bulk of both armies, but it did not stop there. The attack produced the most massive EMP ever recorded...after the fact. The energy flux fried every active electronic device on the planet, and nearly all of the inactive ones, throwing the world into darkness.  In desperate fear of retribution, all the declared nuclear powers and even a few undeclared ones launched their entire arsenals. About a quarter were aimed at the same country, the one deemed to be the greatest threat, the United States of America. It's flaunted missile shield disabled, the US was nearly wiped out, but not before it launched about 60 percent of the total number of missiles launched, raining destruction on enemies and allies alike as the guidance systems failed in the aftereffects of other warheads going off.  In less than a day, mankind had all but undone the work of the last millennia, yet more was to come. Another consequence of the events on that dark day was noticed several months later as the expected spring did not come. For the 3 years of prosperity and growth that had preceded the war, there were 3 years of winter. Millions starved and the survivors were driven to extreme lengths just to survive. If not for the digimon, who were miraculously still able to exist along with their world independently of the devastated Real World, mankind would not have survived. Both worlds became savage places where the strong survived and the weak obeyed. Warlords dominated large areas, demanding tributes from small communities living near or in the ruins of the old civilization. Such were the state of things for nearly a century.

            Over time, the population of the world rebuilt itself to respectable levels above 1 billion inhabitants, and with the restored numbers came restored governments. Kingdoms emerged as the warlords became entrenched. Democracies developed as the newly-made monarchs were toppled. Then oligarchies developed where companies held sway, and Alliances formed where more power was necessary. Above all of these, the TransOceanic Alliance of United Sovereignties is the largest and most powerful. In it's great wisdom, the government has incorporated much of the American continent and parts of the Asian Wastelands, headquartering itself in the one place on earth completely secure from digital invasion, Odiba, Japan. From here, it negotiates wisely with allies and deals harshly with its enemies. It fights to protect the freedom and rights of its citizens for the good of all mankind, promoting equal rights for all mankindÉat least that is what we are told in books.

            In reality, the world is a fearful and dark place. Though all-out wars are rare, numerous, small battles break out across the world with regular frequency, though the government makes sure "casualties were minimal and the enemy was annihilated." Although no official policy on population control exists, in a world where liveable, let alone arable, land is a premium, the costs of living are prohibitive in and of themselves. The few major populations centers that survived the nuclear holocaust are packed to a ridiculous density. Those who live outside certain protective areas must wear, at the very least, particle masks and take special supplements to break down toxins before they reach fatal levels. Much of the world's food supplies are now grown in protected valleys and carefully controlled areas of the Digital World by autonomous means. Meanwhile, certain types of digimon that feed on radiation roam the wastes, slowly reclaiming the land. They should be done in a century or two.

            The government, working from measures put in place during the early 2000s in America, has given itself the right to observe its citizens for "dangerous" tendencies, claiming the availability of firepower in the terms of partners is so easily accessed. They use the processing power of the Digital World to monitor various forms of communication and data storage. In fact, according to rumor, an entire level of the digital world, once called "File Island," where the data of the world's computers manifests, has been converted into a massive data processing center for this purpose. This system involves a massive command structure that has been partially subcontracted out to powerful conglomerates, a few of which actually own and govern sovereignties within the TAUS.

            Access to the Digital World is restricted to military personnel, save for a few parks, which are carefully isolated by powerful firewalls. This oppressive command is one of the few things the world superpowers agree on. Partners are registered by the central government and carefully watched for battle prowess. Those who are thought to have the potential for biomerge evolution are recruited at an early age and given better and more specialized education and training in Academies based in the Digital World. Patches, once the lifeblood of digital industry, are given a government monopoly, and civilian "Tamers" are granted a maximum of 1 patch to use. The patches also cost an exorbitant amount and have limiter codes included. However, it is possible for some digimon to generate patches by "loading" bits of data from deleted foes(though this does run the risk of denying them the possibility of being reborn.) such actions are quasi-legal at best and the military often locks them under password if they are deemed too powerful for civilian use.

Though most adults have the ability to get their digimon to their Champion or "Adult" level, a social hierarchy has developed among children and teens dependant on the level and battle strength of their partners. Such competition is encouraged even among adults as an outlet for "unconstructive" tendancies. Ultimate or "Perfect" levels are rarely reached by the normal populace and all are under government supervision if not direct control, especially since the so-called "Matrix Digivolution Patch," developed from the study of the remnants of the crest codes used by the 01 Odiba digidestined, is a military only program. Megas are almost unheard of, and all are promptly drafted with their partner once they hit that level. However, this system of rankings has produced other, though not entirely unintentional results.

The system produces division amongst the populace, preventing the development of any coherent "rebellion," as well as producing 2 obvious "sub-castes" who can often be used as scapegoats by any angry mobs that do form, Those misfortunate wretches bonded to viral digimon are considered the scum of the earth, guilty by association as one's partner was said to reflect your true self, and everyone knows that viruses are evil by nature. Wasn't after all always a viral Digimon that the old Digidestined fought? Wasn't a viral Mega that so devastated the world? (Most tend to say the war counts as being virus caused, though no solid proof exists.) This widespread prejudice has continued unchecked over the centuries with no attempt to curb its spread as it so conveniently provides a group of individuals to take the blame. Every year, some poor saps have their partners deleted and the living daylights beat out of them (though none have OFFICIALLY died from their injuries) by angry mobs blaming them for whatever crime. Of course this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as such children often grew into bitter adults, denied many opportunities in life and, logically, tend to be much more likely to turn to crime as a way of survival. Many never see their partners more than a few times as it is rare for viral digimon to survive in the digital world long enough to get to their partners. Yet even lower than these are the unpartnered. Though less than 1 percent of the population, such people were considered crippled in the worse way possible, a way un-repairable by modern medicine. In a world where the blind can see and the quadriplegic can walk, the unpartnered are treated much like lepers in the medieval times with many believing that the only reason they don't have a partner is that they are partnered with a virus who committed some horrible crime and was deleted or, even worse, they try steal other people's partners for their ownÉfeh. Like I would want one anyway. With my luck, my partner would be a whiney brat who gets beat up all the time...just like I used to be. Oh, I guess I haven't introduced myself. The name's Xi'an Kaze, the outcaste, unpartnered nerd of Hikari High in outer Apple and this is my world, this is my story...

Well, what do you think? Sorry about all the background. I always feel the need to set up my world first then work it into the story, but I figure I might as well use it, even as a prologue. This is my first Digimon fic and the worlds its set in are quite a bit different from the peppy ones of 01, 02 and Frontier, though 03 was my original inspiration. As to those who liked my pokemon fic, "Brother, My Brother," I'm rewriting chapter 2 now. I had it done and ready to post after another revision last summer, but it got lost when I switched computers and it's been a pain getting my muse back to rewrite it. Anyway, I hope you like it so far. The action starts promptly in the next chapter.


	2. Enter the Ronin, Stage Right, Edit

Dark Future: Chapter 1

By Liahgeron 

"Nothing of this world is pure. All things are a twisted balance of Dark and Light…

But sometimes it is hard to tell which is which."

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. If I did, Season 3 would have continued. Most of the characters and concepts are my own, but are free for the taking. I only ask you to tell me first.

September 26, 2344, TAUS, Apple, Hikari High School Yard, 3:45PM

"Umph!" grunted a pale haired girl as she was shoved to the ground by a much

larger boy, part of a gang of three.

"Take that you criminal!" asserted the second boy.

"B-but, I di-didn't do anything," stuttered the girl in a weak voice.

"Hmph!" the leader of the group, a blond-haired boy of about 16, stepped forward and kicked some dirt at her face as she flinched away. "You're Partnered to a _virus_. What more do we need? You're a crook by nature. Even if you haven't done anything today, you've done it before and will do it again! You and your kind are a plague!" The boy looked over his shoulder at his Partner and called, "Agumon! Show her what we do to Viruses!"

"You got it, boss!" the yellow dino replied, kicking a small, humanoid digimon at his feet.

"No! Impmon!" cried the girl in protest, only to fall back, clutching her ankle, having found it to be badly twisted and unable to hold her weight. The "righteous" bullies just laughed and encouraged their Partners, a Kotemon and a Gotsumon, to join in. The downtrodden, literally, Impmon called out repeatedly as the blows fell, and the girl could only cry in helplessness. Finally, the digimon gang stopped and threw the beaten digimon at the girl, who did her best to catch her partner, only to fall over before she could fully support the weight, her Impmon rolling out of her arms.

"Ha! They look rather pitiful, don't they, boys?" the leader taunted, his cronies chuckling at the comment. Their laughter grew as the girl tried to crawl over to her badly injured partner, who was having trouble remaining conscious, but managed to rise unsteadily to its knees to stare defiantly at the opposing digimon.

The leader's eyes narrowed at the resistance, then laughed cruelly, saying "Let's put them out of our misery, boys! Agumon! Finish that Impmon with Pepper Breath!"

The girl could only watch in horror at the blue bandana-wearing dino opened his mouth and formed a glowing fireball while the other two digimon cheered him on. In fact, some of the other students, milling around after school, had gathered to watch and were cheering on the "good guys." Tears filled her eyes as she watched her only friend, whom she had only gotten back a few weeks prior, defiantly rise to its feet to meet the attack. She could heard her heart thumping in her ears…_wait, those aren't—,_ her thoughts were interrupted as the sound grew, sounding like a silenced machine gun or a charging digimon. Suddenly, the bullies were knocked away as a form darted between, carrying a weapon of some sort.

"Pepper—," called the Agumon as he reared back to fire his attack, only to be interrupted, unexpectedly. The charging figure knocked away the Kotemon and Gotsumon with two quick blows, then struck the back of the lead digimon, causing him to tip his head forward. "—Breath!"

The resulting attack was released point blank into the ground, detonating on impact and throwing the 3 aggressor digimon high into the air, over the huddling forms of their partners, who were shielding themselves. Oddly, the figure weathered the blast without being knocked back or over. As the shockwave died down, the figure slowly pulled his back leg out of his deep, forward stance(1) and stood upright, slowly flexing its limbs and popping its neck. As the dust cleared, the crowd saw that the figure was not a digimon at all, but a teenaged boy, just shy of 6 feet tall, wearing simple khaki trousers, a white t-shirt, and a light, black jacket. Calmly, he turned and, with deceptive carelessness, swung his weapon, a black _bokken_(2), across his shoulder.

Recovering from the shock, the bullies pulled themselves to their respective feet to look at the idiot who interrupted their "fun" and injured their Partners so easily. The leader's eyes narrowed with recognition.

"Xi' an," He hissed, spitting the name out like a poison. His two cohorts took a step back, eyes widening as the remembered the reputation this one had.

The boy, now identified as Xi'an, nodded in recognition and replied calmly, "Morgan."

"Why are you doing this? We made a deal!" Morgan spat, forming a fist with his right hand.

Xi' an didn't flinch at the implied threat of bodily harm, saying in a calm, matter-of-the-fact voice, "I'm expanding its coverage. I'm tired of walking away from your pitiful attempts to prop up your low self-esteem by the bigoted persecution of those weaker than you." He finished with a grin.

Morgan and his companions blinked, not comprehending the meaning of the words.

The Impmon, still on its feet, laughed out loud and called back in a voice that revealed it to be female, "He said your weak-minded cowards who beat up on people to make yourselves feel better."

They continued to blink, though some in the crowd began to chuckle.

The Impmon laughed harder, finishing her statement, "And he basically implied you were idiots."

Her Partner, wiping tears from her eyes, began to laugh too. Morgan and his gang, on the other hand, were starting to change colors, finally realizing they had been insulted.

Xi' an smiled wryly at the little viral digimon, "My thanks to the peanut gallery for providing the necessary translation."

The little demon grinned back, commenting to the bullies, "That's 'dumbing down' to you guys."

"Why you!" shouted a livid Morgan, his limited, though bulky, muscles bulging. "Agumon! Trash him!"

The yellow dino tried to get to his feet, only to fall over with swirls in his eyes, obviously still disoriented from the blast. Morgan frowned an ordered his lackeys to get their digimon to do it. After a brief pause as the two minions gathered enough of their limited wits to order their Partners to attack the one nerd they had avoided bullying for years, the one person they knew of who could take on a rookie digimon with only limited weapons (according to gossip, the first time he tried it, he used a bamboo support left over from the school's remodeling) and stand a chance of winning.

The Kotemon was the first to recover and leapt forward, swinging his short _shinai_, calling, "Thunder Gauntlet!"

Almost lazily, Xi' an waited for the Kotemon's feet to clear the ground before responding. Meanwhile, the Kotemon had reached the apex of his flight, bringing his weapon above his head and beginning to swing downwards to complete his attack. He never reached Xi' an. Shifting with a rapid twist of his body, swinging the _bokken_ low to the ground as he came 'round, tip whistling, Xi' an struck the digimon before he could even realize a counter attack had been made. The Kotemon folded around the blow, dropping his sparking weapon, and was carried higher into the air, flipping over his stunned partner. This delay would cost him. Not pausing for even a moment, Xi' an seemed to _flow_ into his next attack, a strange left-handed punch that left the index and middle fingers unclenched, using them instead to form a type of point. The Gotsumon reacted at the last second, turning his rocky forehead into the attack, meeting the fist with a head butt. However, he was shocked to be knocked back by the initial contact, then to feel a second blow dealt almost simultaneously in the same place with the knuckles of Xi' an's left hand, now in a proper fist. This second blow was a little too much for the data-type rookie's defenses, which literally "cracked" under the pressure, shattering the stone armor around the impact point and knocking the little digimon out before he even hit the ground. The gathered crowd could only stare in shock at the speed and ferocity the usually quiet and polite nerd displayed.

Now Xi' an paused, left arm extended and _bokken_ held almost horizontal near his head, a ready position to stab the fallen Gotsumon should he rise or strike down a second charge by Kotemon. Realizing his opponents were down for the count, he relaxed slightly.

"Huh. What do you know. The _Futae no Wakami(_3) actually worked," he commented in surprise, calming his battle nerves to prepare for the next round. Xi' an then calmly retracted his fist and brought it in front of his face. Wincing at the damage he felt and saw, he spoke out loud, saying, "But it's hell on the hand I use. At least it was just my left hand."

Unclenching his injured hand, both his knuckles and fore knuckles badly bruised and scraped raw by the double impact, even oozing a little blood, he turned to face the human bullies and their one remaining threat, dropping his _bokken_ to the better-known _chudan no kamae(_4) with the tip pointed at the throat of the opponent and the handle at mid-level.

"I've gotten better. Have you?" he taunted, hoping to intimidate them and avoid continuing the battle as his muscles were already protesting his earlier charge and the explosion, and he would soon feel the aftereffects of this latest exchange.

The two lackeys, now thoroughly frightened fled, grabbing their stunned Partners and running to what they thought was a safe distance…their own rooms. However, Morgan remained, his color having returned to normal. This restoration of calm worried Xi' an. He remembered what it meant from when a younger Morgan had picked on a younger and much weaker Xi' an. It meant Morgan had something new he wanted to try. While Xi' an had been dealing with the others, Morgan's Agumon had finally recovered and was again standing, waiting for the order to attack.

A broad grin split Morgan's face as he saw his Partner again on his feet, "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, Xi' an. Unlike you, I always have a trump card, my Partner. I've been dying to try this out for awhile now. In fact, that girl was meant to be a trial run for this!" Morgan grabbed his D-Holo, in the form of a flashy pendant shaped like a dinosaur tooth, and pointed it toward his Partner. "Now Digivolve!" The D-Holo began to glow brightly.

"You got it, boss! Agumon! Digivolve to…!"

A white glow enveloped the half-pint dinosaur and he began to grow…and grow…and, well, you get the idea. Toping out at just over one story in height, the amorphous form sprouted several horns and grew very bulky with new muscle.

"Greeeeaaaaatttt. He figured out how to digivolve," Xi' an comments in a sarcastic tone, breaking out in a rash of sweatdrops as he watched.

The glow died down and a large, reddish-orange digimon stood up and roared its name, "Greymon!"

Morgan could barely restrain his glee at the sight of his Partner towering over his childhood enemy. "As you can see, we're always going to be a cut above you, Xi' an! I got my digimon to its Adult level years before I should be able to. I bet the army is just waiting to recruit someone of my talents!" he laughed evilly. "Now you see why a Partnerless freak like you is so weak compared to me! Greymon! Crush him like the bug he is!"

The large reptile sported a toothy grin to match his Partner's, rumbling, "With pleasure, boss!" He lifted a massive paw and slammed it down. The tremor produced shook the windows of the school and knocked several bystanders off their feet, including the defiant Impmon, who had managed to walk over to her Partner to help her up, only to fall back down with her before they could get clear.

Meanwhile, Xi' an was now sporting one large sweatdrop as he took a measure of his opponent…too big for him to fight. As the Greymon took slow, deliberate steps in his direction, Xi' an could think of one thing he could really attack:

_Damn. I hope he has an Achilles Heel! In my current state, I can't jump high enough to hit any vitals…_

Sinking again into a non-standard _kamae_, his _bokken_ held edge up with a 45 degree twist in his right hand and pulled back so that the _tsuba_(5) is actually just behind his ear. His left arm is extended and the fingers fanned out next to the tip of the weapon, acting as a kind of sight. His legs are in a reverse forwards stance with his left leg in front, fully-extended and his body slightly twisted to the right. Once in position, he waited for the time to strike, giving him a moment to ponder his own stupidity and rashness.

Mentally, Xi' an reviewed his knowledge of the technique he was about to attempt, _The _Gototsu_(6), which I could never get quite right, _ _is supposed to be left-handed … I hope right-handed works better…If I miss, he's gonna' trample me. Even if I hit, he might just fall on top of me…Damn. These odds really suck._

Noticing the Greymon was just one step away from crushing him, he ended the depressing internal monologue and shouted, "Here goes the long shot! Ha!"

First he twisted his body and took a long step, covering over half the remaining distance, then he twisted his torso further, spreading open his chest muscles and stabbing with all his might at the major tendon of Greymon's ankle. The impact rocked his body, but Xi' an gritted his teeth and followed through, hearing a very satisfying _snap_ as the tendon broke free in mid-step. The Greymon roared in pain as it fell…backwards and away, thankfully, from Xi' an, hitting the ground with a great crash that threw up a large dust cloud. Several members of the crowd, former victims of Morgan's crew, cheered as the titanic lizard fell, crying out in pain.

Panting in exhaustion, Xi' an rocked back and forth a little, regaining his balance, then took a deep breath before turning 'round toward the girl he had protected. Walking up to her and her weakened partner, he switched his _bokken_ to his left hand with a slight wince, then offered his right hand to help her up. Eyes glistening with her unshed tears, she took his hand, and he pulled her up and put her arm over her shoulder to support her.

"Ryoko, right? We have Bio together," he asked, ignoring the continued cries of both Partners behind him, one in pain, the other in anger.

The pale haired girl nodded as she leaned on him, replying, "Yeah. And this is my partner Impy the Impmon."

The sassy digimon with a broken heart plastered upon her chest saluted Xi' an with a bright neon pink glove, "Yo! Nice to meet ya'!"

Xi' an chuckled, he was beginning to like this digimon. Ryoko grinned as well at her Partner's antics.

"Thank you for saving us," she said shyly, trying to catch his eyes with hers.

Xi' an blushed and averted his eyes, realizing what she was doing, though not the proper response due to his total lack of experience with the opposite gender. A little embarrassed, he replied, "No problem. I was just walking by. I might not have decided to help if Morgan decided to go so far. When I did I just barely had time to throw down my bag and grab my _bokken_ out of it in time. Do you need help getting home?"

Ryoko nodded, "If you don't mind. It's not too far, but Impy won't be able to support me that far."

"Hey! I'm not that weak! I had those digimon right where I wanted them when he jumped in!" The dark digimon puffed out her chest as if to prove she could've taken them.

Ryoko just laughed at her overbearing partner, and Xi' an joined in, both slightly giddy at the dangerous situation they had just gotten out of. However, both failed to notice that the whimpers of pain had died down…and were replaced with a low growl. Impmon, who was the only one facing in the right direction, was, therefore, the first to notice the glowing ball of white-hot power being formed in the kneeling dinosaur's mouth. Her response to this situation of impending doom was very appropriate, well-reasoned, and very well-established, she froze in fear like a deer seeing the headlights of an ancient transportation vehicle called an automobile. Xi' an noticed this when he nearly tripped over the little demon and turned his head over his shoulder, following her line of sight. His response too was well-established.

"Aw, shit."

Unable to do much of anything to dodge in his current condition, he put Ryoko down as gently as he could, then turned, launching his _bokken_ into the air, aiming for the Greymon's oversized eyes. Unfortunately, his aim was a little off. The weapon flew wide, eventually landing hard on Morgan's head, knocking him out cold. Wincing inwardly at his poor aim, Xi' an turned and crossed his forearms in front of him, preparing to act as a shield against the incoming attack. Impmon put herself in front of Ryoko and was forming the largest Fireball she could manage to help break up what was left of the attack, Fortunately, the noble sacrifices of both human and digimon were not called for this day.

"FIST OF THE BEAST KING!" roared a powerful, deep voice as a lion-headed blast of fire flew from behind the living shields, striking the forming attack and detonating it. The resulting explosion blew the opposing digimon all the way back to a Koromon. Morgan, still groggy from the blow to the head, stood and stared in shock, along with the rest of the present student body at the unexpected reversal.

Regaining his senses, Morgan turned to the tall figure who had snatched his guaranteed victory over his most hated person from his grasp and demanded, "Who are you!"

"He is Leon, my Partner," called a smaller figure, leaning against the larger's leg. The angle of the sun, which had concealed their identity up to that point, was interrupted by a passing cloud. The pair was revealed to be a unusually tall Leomon, his left fist still extended and slightly smoking, and a tall, tanned girl with dark brown hair bound in a high ponytail.

Realizing the severity of this new situation, Morgan stumbled back a step, grabbed his still unconscious Partner, and fled. This tactical retreat was an unusually wise decision for the bully as his new opponents were feared in the local area for their fighting prowess. The tall girl, Sara, held a _shodan(7)_ in Aikido and a _nikyu(7)_ in Brazilian Jujitsu, not to mention a formidable reputation in kendo as the only female captain of the school team in its entire history. Her digimon's species was also, arguably, considered the strongest of the Adult/Champion levels, and this particular feline warrior was known as the 2 years running local Digital Rumble champion in the 18 and under, non-military division. Rumor had it that the only reason she hadn't been drafted into the elite military was that her father ran special training sessions for those same squads. Needless to say, she was not someone you wanted to challenge in any form of combat without a serious strategic advantage.

Grinning at Morgan's fleeing back, Sara called out to the assembled crowd, "Alright, folks! Show's over! Nothing to see but a coward running away!"

The assembled students dispersed, many chuckling at the outcome. Morgan's reputation when and if he ever showed his face again had taken a great fall that day. The members of the crowd having returned to their previous occupations, Sara strolled over to Xi' an, who had decided to calm his nerves and take a break…by falling over backwards.

Sara, taking note of the significant imprint his form made on impact, frowned and began to lecture the exhausted teen, "Xi' an Kaze! Were you stupid enough to try fighting a gang of digimon, including an Adult-level while wearing your training weights!"

The tired boy cracked an eyelid at the reprimand, sighing, "Yes, sempai."

The Amazonian girl shook her head in mild disgust, "You could have gotten yourself seriously injured, even killed pulling a stunt like that! You're lucky I got out of

Kendo practice early and saw the commotion!"

Xi' an began to sit up, chuckling as he rose, "Well, I'm alive, aren't I? Though the former consequence is well fulfilled." Groaning, Xi' an took off his light jacket and rolled up the sleeve on his right arm, revealing a strange, almost armor-like, dark blue gauntlet wrapped around his fore- and upper-arm. Working with practiced precision, he untied several black cords and unlocked a couple joints, allowing the entire contraption to fall off, hitting the ground with a solid _thunk_ without a bounce. Slowly, Xi' an began to rotate and flex his arm, checking for permanent damage. Satisfied that his mobility was intact and the majority of the pain was just overexertion, he put the device back on and repeated the process with his left arm. Meanwhile, the girls could only stare in shock at the obvious weight of the pieces. Ryoko, who sat nearby the left arm piece, made an attempt to lift it, only to let it fall almost immediately.

"Holy Angemon! That thing is heavy!" she cried, rubbing her strained biceps and writs.

Sara, frowning at Ryoko's exclamation walked over to Xi' an and grabbed the piece before he could put it back on, almost dropping it at the unexpected weight. "What the! Light, Xi' an! This thing weighs a ton!" she exclaimed.

Xi' an snatched back his training weight and reconnected it to the rest and donned his jacket to conceal them again. "What? You knew I trained hard, Sara!"

She looked at him incredulously, commenting sarcastically, "Hard, yes. Suicidally, no. For Azulongmon's sake! The weights I'm wearing right now weigh less than one arm! How much are you carrying!"

Xi' an paused a moment, trying to remember the exact weight of the harness, replying thoughtfully, "About a hundred kilos. Give or take a few."

Those present dropped their jaws, including the digimon. Sara was the first to respond.

"Are you nuts! That's more than you! I only use 30!"

"Well, I have been doing this for the last 6 years while you only started 2 years ago," Xi' an replied dismissively, tying his left leg weights back on. "It only follows that I've built up more than you have." He stood and bowed to the Partnered pair, "Thank you again for your aid, sempai(8)."

"Oh no you don't! You don't get out of this that easily!"

Xi' an suddenly straightened, "Huh? What"

"You heard me, kohai(8)! You haven't come to training in a little over a year and a half! We're going to lose our championship position at this rate!" To Xi' an's eyes, Sara seemed to grow as she took a step towards her errant protégé.

"What? I told you why I quit! I even gave you 3 months notice!"

Ryoko and Impy had sat down against the outer wall of the school to watch this amusing spectacle. In fact, Ryoko had grabbed a bag of chips from her discarded bag and was sharing it with her Partner.

"'I think this is a sport,' is not an explanation!"

"Well, it is! For crying out loud, they switched to a point system now! It was bad enough that the standard weapon is even lighter than the _shinai(9) _we learned with!"

"I thought you would like the neoken! They're shaped and balanced like a _shinken!_ You used to complain about the _shinai_ too!" Sara retorted.

Xi' an snorted, "So? They're bad too! But at least they have some weight to them! Those new polymer neoken weigh exactly 200 grams! That's less than half the weight! And the point system is stupid! It was bad enough that the old style was mostly sport, often just striking as fast as you can and hoping to hit first to get a point, but now they have driven it even further from practical fighting! Lucemon! I can just stand still and pound the opponent as fast as I can and win nearly every time by running down his 'hit points! Do even get me started on the so-called 'style' system!"

Sara glared at the _ronin(10)_ member of her team, countering, "It makes the battles more interesting! We're getting loads more attention and funding now than 2 years ago! Besides, like you said, you would dominate the new format!"

Now Xi' an was getting a little angry, growling, "_Kendo_ is not a simple game for the masses! It is an ancient art designed to hone one's skills both in battle and in life! It's not a daned LARP(11)!"

Ryoko, noticing the rising tension, jumped in, "Woah, you two! We just stopped one fight. Let's not start another!"

Impy, not to be left out, put her two cents in, "Yeah! You two are arguing like a married couple!"

Leon, quiet and stoic up to this point, cracked a grin, adding, "The little one is right: you two are acting like you did as kids. Always trying to one up the other in something!"

"Hmph! Fine!" both huffed in unison, turning their heads. The others began to chuckle at the sight, and after a several seconds of futile attempts to remain angry, the arguing "couple" joined in. After all had a good laugh, they organized themselves for a trip home. As Ryoko's home lay in the same general direction, north of the school, of Sara's home/_dojo_, Leon volunteered to carry the injured Pair home. Waving goodbye, and promising self-defense lessons to Ryoko and a return to _some_ practices to Sara, Xi' an turned west into the descending sun and began the long walk toward the apartment complex where he lived…

Time Unknown, Digital World…

The digital world was a place of great beauty with huge forests and mountain ranges, with tranquil desert landscapes scattered in between. Generally kept at peace by regular patrols of troops from all nations and, of course, the huge firewalls that isolated the sections accessible from said nations, the serenity of undisturbed nature could still be found if one was willing to look. This calmness is what drew Kor, the Kougamon, to this quiet grove deep within the borders of the great island chain of Peripheral. There he meditated and trained, hoping to break through to the next level of Digivolution, having shunned Partnering till he had reached his own limits. He enjoyed the isolation the location provided, allowing him uninterrupted time to train.

Delving deep into his innerself in meditation, he searched out the inner well of power that would allow him to digivolve to Perfect. Reaching his previous limit, Kor bore down with his will, forcing himself to push through. Starting to lose power, Kor faltered, almost giving up.

_No,_ he growled inwardly. _I refuse to fail again!_

Muttering that mantra, he drove forward again with restored might, struggling against the internal barrier, until he felt it start to crack. Drawing strength from his success, he pushed harder, breaking through. He reveled in the power and prepared to loose himself to it and ascend to Perfection…only to be abruptly knocked out of it as a heavy object fell out of the sky to land on his head. Knocked forward to sprawl on the ground, Kor lay there, stunned for a moment.

"Owwww…." moaned a high-pitched voice. "I hit my head…"

A small, roundish form sat up from its landing site and began to rub its head. Kor, regaining his senses, was not amused at the cute creampuff with a solid skull. Growling, he threw the lightweight off his back and quickly turned on it, drawing his sword from his back.

"Do you have any idea what you just did!" he roared, pointing the blade at the UFO, Unidentified Fallen Object.

The tiny digimon adopted a thinker pose for a moment, before cutely shaking his head and grinning, "Noooooooooooo."

Kor suddenly developed a chronic twitch in his left eye. "Are you dense or just plain stupid!"

The puffball blinked his huge eyes twice before leaning toward the razor sharp edge hovering in front of him. Ignoring the previous rhetorical question, he asked, "Umm…What's this? It's shiney…Oooooooo!"

Sporting a large sweatdrop, Kor demanded of the world, "How can anything be this dense! Arggggg!"

As Kor began to wave his blade wildly about, the white and purple digimon came to a conclusion, "Oh! You're dancing! I want to too!" And with that, the tiny digimon began to spin around on the tip of his left foot, giggling.

Shocked at the sheer naïveté of the annoyance, Kor stopped and stood, dumbfounded at the spinning Child-level. In blissful ignorance, the younger digimon continued to spin…and spin…and spin…until he at last got dizzy and spun out.

"Ooooo…The world's all spinny…"

The eye twitch spreading to the rest of his body, Kor jumpstarted his senses and decided at the very least, the little data the rookie could supply may allow him to again break through to Perfection. It was only fair that the little one would pay him back, after all.

"Shi-ne!(12)" he roared, bringing his blade down on the puffball…

Well, there's my pitiful attempt at a cliffhanger. I apologize for this and any future artificial-feeling breaks. I originally intended for this to just be part of one large chapter and to break future chapters up between major events….but due to my overzealous detailing of battles and exhaustive background details, I'll have to break them up into smaller pieces or spend months at a time writing 20+ page chapters. Anyway, I'm sorry for anyone left wanting at the end of chapters. This chapter and the next couple are not as dark as the initial, but it depends on my mood when writing. Now for the first time in my writing career, reviewer responses:

'Knight of the Staff- Yay! Someone was paying attention! Most Partnered digimon become wholly dependant on the energy supply provided by a human Partner, but there are ways for them to stay around after the death of a Partner…Some good…some bad…and some down right evil. Also, when the Human side of a Partnering dies, the digimon is generally drawn back into the Digital World without an anchor to the Real, often falling into Child-level or lower, then slowly fades and is recycled to be reborn and await their next Partner, who often shares many of the characteristics of the deceased one.

Sustaining higher levels like Perfect and Mega have additional costs associated with them…but those will come into play later.

Appendix:

1. Forward Stance- The most common martial arts stance with many variations. Generally it has one, often the right, leg forward and the other leg behind and held straight.

2. _Bokken_- also called _bokuto_, literally means "wooden sword," the most basic practice weapon for Japanese sword arts. It is generally shaped like a single-edged, Japanese sword called a _katana_. _Kendo_ practitioners use this instead of the _shinai_(9) to perform _kata_ or forms. Originally, this was the primary weapon in _kendo_ as well, but after many years of a high attrition rate due to the hardwood (white oak) construction, the more flexible _shinai_ came into use.

3. _Futae no Wakami_- a powerful double-strike technique from _Rurouni Kenshin_ used by Sanoske. The idea behind it is that an initial blow stresses an object's structure to a significant extent, at which point the entire object generally starts to move and absorbs the rest of the energy without much more damage, then an almost immediate follow up strike at the exact same point "catches up" with the now moving object and pushes it past the breaking point, shattering the structure of the target. This technique allows more energy and, therefore, damage to be delivered to the impact point. Here, the extended foreknuckles of the hand deal the initial blow, then the rest of the body follows through to hit with the knuckles. It requires a great deal of base strength, speed and control to make this technique effective, otherwise, you just waste half or more energy by making to small blows rather than one powerful strike. However, it does allow one to bypass the efficiency limits of a punch if you can get the timing and accuracy down,

4. _Chudan no Kamae_- one of the 5 basic _kamae_ or "ready positions" of Kendo and Iaido. One holds the sword with both hands with one leg, generally the right, forward and the other held back and straight with the heel slightly up. The sword is held angled in front with the tip pointed at the opponent's throat and the handle at about waist level.

5. _Tsuba_- the hand guard of Japanese swords. Generally made in a rounded-square shape and ornately decorated.

6. _Gototsu_- an atypical stab using the left hand. The signature technique of Hajime Seito in _Rurouni Kenshin._ As the left hand is considered the power hand in _kendo_ and _iaido_ with the right acting as guide, a stepping stab with the left is supposed to put out amazing amounts of power. However, the coordination of this stab or _tsuki_ leaves the arm fairly unstable and easy to deflect as I've seen in _kendo_ matches, but it is one of the fastest moves in _kendo_. Also, in _RK_ there are a number of variations to improve power, anti-air ability, and close-range/penetration ability respectively. The most powerful defensive element to this move is the ability to switch into a sideways slash after a missed stab, or vice versa.

7. Ranking System- Generally in Japanese martial arts, _kyu_ ranks are those under _dan_ or "black belt" ranks and run in reverse order from around 9th or _kukyu_ to 1st or _eikyu_. _Dan_ ranks run in ascending order of _sho, ni, san, yon, go, roku, hatch, _and_ nana._ Most styles limit ranks to eighth(_nana_) _dan_ with any higher reserved as honors granted by the Emperor. Some even reserve eighth for the founder and that's it.

8. Honorifics- For those who are unfamiliar with Japanese culture, sempai designates one superior to you in experience. In school, senior students are always called sempai and younger students, kohai. In this story, Japan is badly devastated by the Demon's assaults and the remaining population compensates in the dark times by becoming a formidable Empire, conquering parts of southern Asia for resources and using their defense against Digital attacks granted both by BlackWargreymon's and Pendramon's data to become a stronghold. Although eventually forced to negotiate and join TAUS by the rebellion of Hong Kong, creating a new independent Alliance of the Dragon to contend for power in Asia, the Japanese became a strong, if small, upper class in the early TAUS government and industry, therefore bringing a number of cultural influences, such as these honorifics.

9. _Shinai_- a bamboo sparring weapon made of 4 sections. More flexible than a _bokken_, this practice weapon has become the standard for _kendo_ competitions. Straighter, rounder and having a longer handle, it provides a safer implement, but feels a little different to one used to a _bokken_ or _iaito_.

10. _Ronin_- a term that used to be applied to masterless _samurai_, generally like some mercenary knights of Europe, but it was a broader term, including a variety of situations and characters. Most were little better than bandits, others were mercenaries, some were honorable men whose master had been killed. It has also been applied to high school graduates who choose to wait a year and retake entrance exams instead of going to a lower ranked college. I'm not sure, but I believe it can also be applied to those who don't fulfill responsibilities like a club.

11. LARP- Live Action Role-Playing game. Generally, people act as characters in a game Like Dungeons and Dragons) and play out in real life the scenarios normally seen in games, whether fantasy or otherwise. In this case a "boffer" LARP is the reference, where players fight off a hit-point system with padded weapons.

12. _Shi-ne_- roughly, "Die!" in Japanese.


End file.
